Column: Law enforcement says man dressed as superhero is interfering

Published: Monday, February 24, 2014 at 11:16 PM.

To most of us, superheroes are things of myth that make for great comic books and middling movies; to others, it’s a way of life.

Under the condition of anonymity, local law enforcement administrators have agreed to speak publicly about a man who has taken it upon himself to single-handedly wipe out crime in Lenoir, Jones and Greene counties.

The first the law enforcement administrator we spoke to will be referred to as “Benny.”

“We started to realize something strange was going on in the summer of 2013,” Benny said. “We started receiving lots of information on our tips line from what sounded like the same person. Every week, this man left five or six strong tips that usually led to arrests and loads of recovered property.”

To most of us, superheroes are things of myth that make for great comic books and middling movies; to others, it’s a way of life.

Under the condition of anonymity, local law enforcement administrators have agreed to speak publicly about a man who has taken it upon himself to single-handedly wipe out crime in Lenoir, Jones and Greene counties.

The first the law enforcement administrator we spoke to will be referred to as “Benny.”

“We started to realize something strange was going on in the summer of 2013,” Benny said. “We started receiving lots of information on our tips line from what sounded like the same person. Every week, this man left five or six strong tips that usually led to arrests and loads of recovered property.”

Benny says the tips were welcome by authorities. But as time went on, the mystery man seemed to grow bored with simply delivering information.

“As the summer wore on, he continued to leave tips but started to offer help in apprehending the suspects,” Benny said. “He started to identify himself as ‘Captain Carolina.’ He said his motto was to fight for truth, justice and the what’s left of the American Way.”

As the summer turned to fall, Captain Carolina began providing information for law enforcement in Lenoir, Greene and Jones counties.

“Whoever this Captain Carolina is, seems to have his finger on the pulse of the petty crime underworld,” said another law enforcement administrator we’ll refer to as “Agnetha.” “He hasn’t helped us with any felonies yet, but our clearance rate on misdemeanors has gone up by 5 percent since he started helping us.

“My bosses don’t like him, but personally I’d like to give him a hug.”

The third person from local law enforcement to speak to us will be referred to as “Bjorn.”

“We never received any anonymous tips from Captain Carolina,” Bjorn said. “For some reason, he decided to begin his crime-fighting career in our jurisdiction.”

Bjorn says on three occasions over the past six months, four suspects wanted for everything from larceny to crimes against bicycle racks were found bound and gagged outside of the jail in his jurisdiction.

“They found these guys tied up outside when the shifts changed,” Bjorn said. “They were all tied rodeo-style, and each of them had a DVD featuring footage of them committing the crimes they were suspected of duct-taped to their heads.”

Captain Carolina’s efforts reached a new level last week when several witnesses spotted him intervening in a crime in progress.

“A young kid was being intimidated by three older kids on his way home from school,” Benny said. “They were started to rough him up a bit, when all of a sudden this guy wearing green spandex, an orange cape and a diving mask jumped out of the bushes and started wailing on the suspects as if they’d said something about his mother.”

Security video from a nearby bank shows Captain Carolina kicking the suspects several times about the head, buttocks, kidney, buttocks, leg and buttocks area as they tried to run away.

“When a law enforcement officer showed up on the scene, Captain Carolina popped up a manhole cover and disappeared into the sewer system,” Benny said. “The suspects threw their money and phones at the feet of the victim and reportedly ran away crying like Rick Ross when the buffet shuts down.”

While officials from all local law enforcement appreciate the sentiment behind Captain Carolina’s actions, they are hoping he will stop interfering with law enforcement business.

“They higher-ups have had three meetings about Captain Carolina so far,” Agnetha said. “The general consensus is he’s going to get hurt if he doesn’t stop.”

At various times over the past few months, Captain Carolina has used social media as a way to communicate with the public.

“He’ll create a Facebook or Twitter account, send out a message and then delete the account within 24 hours,” Bjorn said. “He may be a savvy guy who is trying to keep the authorities from finding him, or he’s computer illiterate and accidentally deletes his account when he signs off.”

Based on posts Captain Carolina made on his Facebook page, Bjorn says detectives have started to piece together his back story.

“Usually something traumatic that happens during the formative years triggers seemingly sane people to dress up like Paul Lynde at Mardi Gras and go fight crime,” Bjorn said. “Based on what he’s posted online, he decided to become a superhero after the McRib was discontinued, they stopped putting toys in Cracker Jacks and Steven Speilberg airbrushed the guns out of the police scene in ‘E.T.’

“He also seems to still be pretty ticked off over the breakup of Wham.”

Law enforcement and criminals alike await Captain Carolina’s next move.

This story will be updated.

Jon Dawson’s columns appear every Tuesday and Thursday in The Free Press. Contact Jon at 252-559-1092 or jon.dawson@kinston.com. Purchase Jon’s new book of columns “Counterfeit Sauerkraut & The Weekend Teeth” at the Free Press office and jondawson.com.